Nintendo has had an exciting year so far with the release of its portable Nintendo 3DS and the announcement of the Wii U console. But after releasing its fiscal first quarter results today, Nintendo saw very few financial highlights.

According to Nintendo's Q1 financial results, it posted a net loss of 25.5 billion yen ($324 million) in the quarter ending June 30, 2011. During the same quarter one year earlier, the net loss was 25.2 billion yen. Its operating income was at 37.7 billion yen in the April to June 2011 quarter, up from 23.3 billion yen in April to June 2010.

Nintendo is clearly having a rough time, and it blames the poor sales of both the 3DS and Wii titles for its financial downfall. According to its financial report, 710,000 3DS units have been sold between April and June 2011, bringing the total number sold to 4.32 million (830,000 in the U.S. total). This was a major disappointment for Nintendo, considering it was hoping to sell that many within the first weeks following the 3DS' launch in March 2011.

To remedy this, Nintendo is slashing the price of the 3DS from $249.99 to $169.99 starting August 12.

In addition, Nintendo will offer anyone with a 3DS that connects to the Nintendo eShop via wireless connection a chance to be registered in the Nintendo 3DS Ambassador program. All the 3DS owner has to do is connect to the eShop at least once before 11:59 p.m. ET on August 11.

Once registering as a 3DS Ambassador, users can download 10 NES Virtual Console games starting September 1, before they roll out to the public. This includes games like "Donkey Kong Jr.," "The Legend of Zelda," and "Super Mario Bros." Even when the paid versions of these games are released to the general public, they will remain free for Ambassadors.

Before the end of the year, Nintendo will give Ambassador's another 10 free picks from the Game Boy Advance Virtual Console catalogue, which features games like "Super Mario Advance 3," "Yoshi's Island," "Metroid Fusion," and "Mario Kart." For this particular perk, Nintendo adds that these titles will never be released to the general public, making it a special offer for Ambassadors only.

"For anyone who was on the fence about buying a Nintendo 3DS, this is a huge motivation to buy one now," said Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America president. "We are giving shoppers every incentive to pick up a Nintendo 3DS, from an amazing new price to a rapid-fire succession of great games."

Even with such incentives, Nintendo's recent financial loss prompted it to reduce its annual profit forecast 82 percent to 20 billion yen ($257 million) for the fiscal year to March 2012.

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